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Lemon Jelly
and keep stirring it with the wine and eggs, to prevent it from curdling; then add a little more stock and still keep stirring, and then put it into the pan; let it boil twenty minutes, and about the middle of the time pour in half a teacup of cold water; pour it into a flannelbag, and let it run into a basin. Keep pouring it back into the bag gently till it runs clear. Let it settle a little after boiling before pouring it into the bag, and be nearly cold before going into the mould. The eggs and wine must be carefully mixed, or it will curdle. If loosening the edges and shaking the jellies or blancmange is not sufficient, try dipping the mould for one instant into very hot water, or lay under it a cloth that has been dipped in hot water.
What survives here is the clarifying and moulding half of a Victorian lemon jelly — the part that separates a cloudy, cloying dessert from a bright one. The instructions assume a gelatine stock made from calf's feet or isinglass and a jelly bag hung over a basin.
- The hinge: temper the eggsThe eggs (whites and crushed shells, in the usual method) are slackened with the wine and only then let down with the stock a little at a time, stirring constantly. Added too fast, the albumen sets in lumps instead of rising as a coherent raft that traps the sediment.
- "Stock" here is not soupIn jelly-making, stock means the strained gelatine liquor, simmered from calf's feet or made up from isinglass, and later from packaged sheet gelatine. A modern gelatine solution stands in for it, though the missing opening of this recipe gives no quantities to work from.
- Twenty minutes of boilingThat long a boil is for coagulating the egg thoroughly, not for setting; prolonged hard boiling does weaken gelatine, so keep it at a steady bubble rather than a rolling one. The half teacup of cold water partway through checks the boil and helps the raft consolidate.
- The flannel bagA jelly bag of flannel, hung on a stand and wetted with hot water first. A double layer of dampened muslin or a coffee filter in a sieve does the same job. Never squeeze it — pressure pushes fine sediment through and the jelly goes hazy.
- Pouring it backThe first run is always cloudy. Returning it gently to the bag lets the egg raft itself act as the filter, which is why later runs come clear. Let the pan settle off the heat first so you pour liquid, not sludge.
- Temperature before moulding"Nearly cold" means just above setting point. Warm jelly poured into a mould goes on setting unevenly and any fruit or garnish floats to the top.
- Turning outAn instant in very hot water, or a hot damp cloth pressed round the mould, melts a film at the surface only. Longer than a second or two and the pattern of the mould slumps.
- WineSherry, Madeira or white wine was commonly used in jellies of this kind. It is added before boiling here, so much of the alcohol cooks off and what remains is flavour; wine stirred in at the end would keep more of its alcohol, which can slightly soften the set.
Clear jelly was a display dish and a sickroom staple at once. Before packaged gelatine was cheap, the stock came from long-boiled calf's feet or from isinglass — dried sturgeon swim bladder — and the labour of extracting it, then clarifying it with egg white and straining it repeatedly through flannel, was one of the tests of a competent Victorian kitchen. A jelly that arrived at table brilliantly transparent, moulded in a tall fluted shape and flavoured with lemon and sherry, advertised both the cook's skill and the household's ability to spare her the time. The same jelly, made weaker and without wine, was recommended for invalids, which is why nineteenth-century books so often place it near the beef teas and gruels. The detailed advice on unmoulding here reflects how much was at stake at the last moment: hours of work could be lost in the turning out.